Pop! Cherry
by Your Iron Lung
Summary: Sanji has quite the reputation; one that he fully accepts and holds with pride. However, his reputation gives him a potentially life changing curve-ball, one that may be able to help him turn his life of prostitution around for good. ZoSan AU yaoi.
1. Taste My Skin

'_Hey, mister_

_Don't you remember?_

_At that time you touched my heart so bad_

_Oh baby, baby, you're so stupid_

_You shouldn't make me bad_

_I think you're just afraid of me'_

_- Taste my Skin, Anna Tsuchiya_

**Pop! Cherry**

Sanji's reputation as being one of the best male escorts around was well know by the student population; a truth that circulated well outside the walls of his University. All the girls knew his name, and many boys did too, though for different reasons. Sanji wasn't exactly modest about his status, and held himself with a pompous air of superiority, for Sanji was known as the Cherry Popper; a title he held with pride.

The way he figured, if a girl (or guy, though he hadn't had any male customers) were tired of his or her virgin status, he'd be glad to take it- for a fee. He based how much he charged on the customers themselves; the more attractive they were, the less he'd charge. Simple. Easy. Besides, it wasn't like sex was a big deal or anything special. It was just sex, and sex was something Sanji was good at.

Despite how Sanji advertised himself, a great majority of the girls who called were rather ashamed or embarrassed, tending to call him up for his services late at night, as if what they did was done during the evening would make it easier for them to bear.

So it should've come as no surprise to him when his cell phone decided to vibrate and ring loudly at the lovely hour of 3 in the morning; on a school night, no less.

The sleepy blonde cracked his eyes open to stare at his vibrating phone as it made its way angrily across his bedside table, begging to be answered. He sighed groggily and threw his blankets aside to sit up, rubbing his eyes briefly before he reached out and snapped open his phone.

"Hello." He answered suavely, despite being tired as fuck. It was his policy to always be ready and welcoming, so any girl who called wouldn't feel alarmed at his grouchy disposition.

No one answered on the other end, but he was sure he could hear some uneven, nervous breathing. He was quite used to this, and waited patiently for the caller to respond to his greeting. He stretched an arm backwards over his head and twisted, giving his back a satisfying crack before returning to the business call on hand.

The person on the other line sighed, and Sanji could hear them moving the phone around before breathing out a hasty "Shit."

Sanji froze, his eyes going wide as his arm fell back to his side in surprise. Was that… was that a _man _on the other end? Sanji's cool demeanor fell briefly as his voice cracked in his confusion.

"Hello?"

"Um…hey. Is this the, uh… the, um…" the man on the phone couldn't bring himself to call Sanji by his nickname. The blonde could feel the guy's embarrassment radiating over the phone.

"This is Sanji." He murmured, regaining his composure. He still wasn't able to comprehend a man calling him, though, and found this all very hard to comprehend. Rummaging around in his bedside table's drawer, he brought out a pack of cigarettes and his familiar lighter. "How may I service you tonight?"

"…"

Sanji chuckled as the man breathed out another couple choice curse words. He put his cigarette to his lips and lit it, inhaling deeply as he waited for the man to speak.

"I charge by the hour." He said as he crossed his legs and let the smoke trail out his mouth. Tonight could prove to be very interesting, and Sanji smiled.

"I-I…It's for my girlfriend!" The guy stuttered out, obviously very flustered. "She…she wants to go all the way, but…"

"But you dunno how." A thin smile spread its across his face. He doubted the other man had a girlfriend at all, but if this was how he wanted to go about hiring him, then Sanji would play along. "I can help you with that."

"H-how much?"

"That all depends on you." Sanji said, taking another drag from his cig. "Whattya look like?"

Sanji nearly laughed as the guy began to cough, obviously having chocked on something before he began to ramble embarrassedly in response to Sanji's inquiries.

"Ok, ok." Sanji cooed, laughing lightly around his cigarette. "I'll just find out when you get here. Need an address?"

* * *

Zoro was both nervous and highly embarrassed about what he was doing; it felt… wrong, but he was so tired of being teased about his virginity. It was nobodies business but his own about if he'd slept with someone or not, but everyone held sex in such high priority, it was impossible to escape ridicule about being a virgin at his age.

He clenched his gloved hands inside the pocket of his coat as the not so fond memories of being hassled by his Kendo teammates recited through his head. It wasn't his fault he hadn't had sex yet, at the age of 23; he just never took an interest in it. Besides, he wasn't particularly interested in women the way most men were, a fact that he had become increasingly aware of as time wore on.

Sighing as he made his way slowly up the snow-covered steps of the apartment complex the fabled Cherry Popper resided in, he couldn't help but thing that maybe he was making a mistake. The complex wasn't anything luxurious, but Zoro supposed it could always be worse. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all. He took the slip of paper that he had scribbled Sanji's apartment number on and stared at it hesitantly. The green-haired Kendo champion scratched at the hem of his beanie as second thoughts about what he was planning to do wormed their way into his mind.

Zoro sighed once more and was on the verge of turning around and leaving when the taunting jeers of his friends echoed in his ears. He frowned. His eyes snaked back around towards Sanji's apartment, and he realized that he wanted this more than he thought he had.

With a resigned sort of half-sigh, he turned back towards the apartment and faced the door sullenly, giving it a short, hard knock.

The door went unanswered for several seconds as Zoro shifted on his feet nervously. Then, suddenly, the door was swung wide open, revealing a tall, lithe blonde resting on the doorframe, releasing a plume of white smoke from between his lips seductively. Zoro couldn't help but stare, taking in the Cherry Popper's appearance as Sanji smiled and moved aside, granting access to his dimly lit apartment.

"Roronoa Zoro, welcome."

* * *

Sanji was eyeing up his client with silent eyes as the green haired man diverted his gaze away and stepped into his apartment. The blonde swiftly closed the door behind them and Zoro appeared startled, glancing over his shoulder with an almost guilty expression as the door snapped shut. Sanji looked bemused as he smiled gently, stepping past him to lead Zoro into the main area of his apartment.

"Take off your coat." Sanji said, sizing up Zoro as he took one last puff of his cigarette before disposing of it in a nearby ashtray.

Zoro looked blank for a minute as he absorbed Sanji's demand before a light, angry blush overcame his face. He took his jacket off with many an angry muttering, tossing it onto Sanji's sofa and refusing to meet the blonde's gaze, crossing his arms in defiance. When it was gone, Zoro stood in a tight, white t-shirt, looking very much awkward and out of place.

Sanji fell back onto his cough with Zoro's coat as he began to formulate an adequate price, tapping a long, slender finger against his check as he frowned. Zoro wasn't particularly good looking, but he wasn't bad either. He had a firm chest, and his arms were nicely toned with an obvious muscular physique. He was broad shouldered, and men of his stature tended to be well endowed.

Of course, Sanji knew he was going to be the catcher and thusly had to round that into the price's equation. Coupled in with the fact that Zoro was inexperienced (a fact that would no doubt result in some un-pleasantries) caused Sanji's frown to deepen slightly.

"$100." He finally said, leaning back casually as he watched Zoro's stern face fall in surprise.

"A…A hundred?" he exclaimed as his mouth dropped open. Sanji scowled.

"If you can't afford it, I guess your girlfriend will just have to deal."

"N-no!" Zoro sighed and scratched his head. "I have enough for an hour, I guess…"

Sanji's scowl was replaced with a sly smile as Zoro confirmed he'd had enough to afford an hour's worth of fun.

"So, uh… how should we start…?" Zoro found that he could no longer look at Sanji directly as the implications of what they were going to do caressed his mind.

Sanji slid off the couch and sidled up against him, the blonde's long arms draped across the swordsman's waist, causing the man to look down at him in surprise.

"Do you know how to kiss…?" Sanji whispered, his visible blue eye becoming half-lidded in lust to help set the mood. Zoro shook his head hurriedly and the blonde grinned.

He grabbed the front of Zoro's shirt and brought the green haired man's lips crashing down to his own. He closed his eyes and gently worked his mouth against Zoro's, noting that the man's lips were rough and ridiculously chapped.

The swordsman was temporarily stunned and relatively unresponsive for a majority of the kiss as Sanji continued to work his magic on his mouth. The blonde began to nibble lightly on the taller mans lips, allowing Zoro to slowly crept into action, lacing his hand around the back of Sanji's head and tracing his fingers through the other man's hair.

Zoro felt he was just getting used to it when Sanji pulled back, looking up into his eyes with something the older man couldn't identify.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"You need to lead." Sanji said, a light smile creeping onto his lips. "Can't expect your girl to be in charge, y'know? That's usually the man's job."

"Oh! Right, right." Zoro said, watching as Sanji slinked back towards him.

"Let's try this again." Sanji said, placing Zoro's hands on his hips. "Take the initiative, big guy."

Zoro nodded as he studied Sanji's face, trying to look more sure of himself than he actually felt. Hesitantly and rather slowly, he bent down to capture Sanji's soft lips again, noting the drastic differences between the two of them. While he was gruff and buff, the man in his arms was the exact opposite, obviously the type to pamper himself mercilessly.

The green-haired man was a little clumsy compared to what Sanji was accustomed to, but he wasn't doing too badly. Zoro's lips may not have been as gentle as other's he'd kissed, but they were a welcome change to the usually glossed lips of the girls he dealt with.

Sanji licked at Zoro's lower lip, making it clear that he wanted to deepen their kiss. In response, Zoro opened his mouth and slid his tongue into Sanji's mouth, unsure of what to do now that he was actually taking some initiative, or if he was even doing it correctly. Sanji smiled and teased at Zoro's tongue with his own, trying to ease his client of the uncertainty that seemed to be washing through him. It seemed to be working, as Zoro's hands pressed Sanji closer to him and meshed their mouths together roughly as his confidence was restored. Sanji wrapped an arm around the back of Zoro's neck as the two broke away to catch their respective breaths.

"Not bad." Sanji murmured before bringing their mouths back together for a much softer kiss.

Zoro's breathing was heavy as he watched Sanji back off and light up another cigarette and casually lie back on his couch; blue eyes never leaving the other man's face. Sanji took a deep drag of his cancer stick and tossed his head back seductively, exposing his long, pale neck as he let the smoke trickle out his nose.

A strong sense of a lust and want coursed through is body; a want so strong that Zoro didn't quite know what he was doing till he'd done it. His body seemed to be moving on its own as he followed the blonde man over to the sofa, quickly moving to straddle him. He pinned the grinning man down below him as he went in for another deep kiss, trailing his large calloused hands down Sanji's sides.

Wrapping his long legs around Zoro's waist as they took up another battle inside their mouths, Sanji moaned as he felt Zoro's hands coming to rest on his well-shaped thighs and squeezing softly. The kissing stopped as Zoro broke away, staring down at the blonde to watch as Sanji broke out into another grin.

"You don't have much time." He whispered against Zoro's lips before bringing them back together for another quick, but passionate kiss.

The green haired man pulled back and gave a slight smirk. "I still have like, 40 minutes left. That's plenty of time."

**A/N: **So, people told me that I'd kind of smudged Zoro's personality, and looking back on this chapter, they were right. He was much too bashful, so hopefully I fixed that up.


	2. A Day in the Life

_'Woke up, fell out of bed;_

_Dragged a comb across my head._

_Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,_

_And looking up I noticed I was late._

_Found my coat and grabbed my hat_

_Made the bus in seconds flat.'_

_- **A Day in the Life, The Beatles**_

"Jesus_ fucking_ Christ_!_" Sanji screeched. "You shitty _fucker, _what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Zoro pulled back with a stunned expression on his face at Sanji's outburst and could only blink in surprise when Sanji turned back to glare at him.

"What? What'd I do?"

"You can't just _plunge _in like that!" he growled out, grinding his teeth around his long gone cigarette butt. "It hurts, asshole."

Zoro scowled and scratched at the back of his neck; he didn't like being made look a fool, or to be chastised for doing something wrong. Sanji held his hard glare for a minute longer to get his point across before he resumed his face down position on the bed, his rear end raised to meet and great Zoro who was resting comfortably on his knees.

"Sorry, I uh… thought you'd done this before." Zoro apologized, resuming his position he'd been in before Sanji had interrupted him. He placed his erection to the blonde's entrance once more before slowly pressing himself in, mindful of Sanji's comfort levels.

"I've done plenty of girls." Sanji muttered, biting into his lip as he tried to get used to the sensation of something wedging it's way inside him. He grunted and wriggled a bit to get into a more comfortable stance as Zoro continued to slowly push his way in, giving the blonde wary glances to make sure he wasn't going to repeat his earlier mistake.

"You're the first, ungh, guy."

"Oh."

They fell into silence as they concentrated on the sex. Zoro was taking his time, slowly pulling in and out of Sanji who was stroking himself in time to match the man's thrusts.

The silence was marred by the blonde's soft grunts and growls or the occasional sharp intakes of breath he pulled when Zoro found that one, sweet and sensual spot that seemed to set Sanji over the edge, even if the green haired man's performance wasn't incredible.

For Zoro, though, the noises Sanji was making managed to encourage him along as he picked up his pace, making the blonde beneath him clamp down tighter on his lower lip, focusing only on the pleasure of having his prostate hit.

Sanji's breathing was becoming heavier as he felt himself coming closer to climaxing, his stroking becoming quicker and needier to match with Zoro's well-timed pacing.

"Zoro," Sanji breathed out in a gasp. "Faster, Zoro."

Wordlessly Zoro complied, pausing in his thrusts to get a better hold over Sanji's slender hips as he prepared to finish up the night hard and fast. The movements came naturally to the tan, well-built man as he rolled his hips at a quick and steady pace, breathing hard as he felt the tell-tall pressure building in his lower stomach up as his partner shuddered and finished beneath him.

Sanji came into his own hand breathlessly and bit back the guttural cry that had been trying to claw it's way out of his throat. He wouldn't allow Zoro the pleasure of hearing him scream; it wasn't in his nature to be _that _girly. Zoro growled and let his fingers scrabble along at his hips, his fingers digging into his skin as he came, grunting and growling and sighing with release.

He pulled out breathlessly and rolled off the blonde, grinning, satisfied as he lay on Sanji's bed and stared up at the ceiling, letting the post-sex orgasm wash through him. The blonde flopped onto his back and drew himself up against the headboard to light up a new cigarette, discarding the remains of the previous one into his nearby ashtray.

Zor ran an arm over and across his forehead to wipe away the sweat that had gathered on his brow with a huge grin plastered on his face, obviously completely and totally satisfied with his first sexual experience. Sanji glanced at him and couldn't help but snicker; it'd been a while since he'd seen someone that pleased to have lost their virginity.

"Good, right?"

Zoro chuckled and the grin seemed to grow as he peered at Sanji from underneath his arm.

"Yea. Better than I thought. Man, I've been missing out."

Sanji snorted in arrogance as a smug grin came across his boyish face before he drove his foot into the side of Zoro's head, earning a startled cry from the man moss coloured hair.

'_Like marimo.' _ Sanji thought to himself as Zoro sat up abruptly, clutching the side of his face while he chuckled lightly.

"Argh, what the hell?"

"I'm the best in the business." He said, his grin spreading across his face. "Don't you ever forget it. Now, time to pay up, moss-head."

Zoro glared at him, grumbling, as he rubbed the side of his face and lumbered out of Sanji's bed and into the main room where their night's adventure had began. Sanji followed after him, admiring the way the man looked from behind, and watched as Zoro began to re-dress himself in the discarded clothes they'd left behind, noting the way his chest flexed as he pulled that tight, white t-shirt over his head.

And that's when Sanji noticed the large, raging scar proudly dominating Zoro's torso. He frowned; how come he hadn't noticed that before? Had he really been so caught up in the foreplay that he'd neglected to see something so prominent? Curious, Sanji decided to ask about it.

"How'd you get that?" he asked, crossing his arms as he leaned naked against the wall, gesturing towards Zoro's impressive chest scar with his head.

Zoro blinked at him stupidly before looking down at himself, realizing Sanji was talking about his scar. He smiled and finished pulling his shirt on.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"But he died satisfied." Sanji retorted, frowning when he realized that Zoro had no intention of answering his question.

Zoro only laughed as he got his pants back on and plunked back onto Sanji's couch to drag his socks on.

"Touché, pussycat."

Sanji didn't bother rounding up his own clothes; he'd go to bed as soon as Zoro left, and he usually slept in the nude. Why get dressed when you're just gonna get naked again? Besides, it wasn't like he should hide himself from Zoro anyway- they did just have sex, after all.

Zoro finished lacing his boots and stood up, twisting back and forth out of habit to crack his back before he dug his hands into his pockets to retrieve the money he owed Sanji. He frowned when his fingers met nothing but fabric, and a light panic set through him.

He turned his pockets inside out, but the only thing that came from it was some lint and a paperclip. No wallet. He looked up at Sanji apologetically, but the blonde wasn't amused, and was glaring at him, shifting his cigarette around in his clenched teeth in agitation as he waited for Zoro to come up with the money.

"Um…"

Sanji's curly eyebrows furrowed together as Zoro quickly went through his coat pockets to draw out a few crumpled bills, but they weren't nearly enough to cover the cost. The frown on his face only grew deeper as he approached the other man angrily. This idiot moss-head had come red-lighting without any money!

"Idiot!" Sanji yelled as Zoro backed up, wary of the blonde's actions. Sanji launched a kick aimed at his head and Zoro ducked, scrambling away in the opposite direction in surprise. "What kind of idiot doesn't bring money when he comes to a prostitute?"

"I-hey!" Zoro dodged yet another kick as he sidled around the couch to grab up the beanie he'd been wearing earlier as he struggled his way into his coat. "Look, I'll pay you back! I didn't know you were going to be so expensive!"

In Zoro's defense, that was true; if Zoro had known ahead of time that Sanji was going to charge as much as he did, then he probably would've come with more money on hand. However, Sanji didn't care; all he cared about right now was getting his money, which Zoro didn't seem to have.

"Idiot! _Idiot!_" Sanji kept kicking at the idiot Marimo and was mildly surprised to find that the man could dodge his attacks with apparent ease; attacks that had been used on other, more forceful, prospective male would-be clients and had beaten them down. Enraged and annoyed with all of this, Sanji snapped. "Get out, you shitty fucker! Out!"

"Ok, ok! I'm sorry!" Zoro cast what little money he had on him away and toward Sanji before bolting for the door, situating his hat on his head as he raced through the exit and out of site.

Sanji let out a few angry huffs before he growled and kicked the door shut, ignoring the loud slam. He glared at the money Zoro had left behind with disdain before he scooped it up, uncurling the money to find a twenty and a couple of one dollar bills all crumpled up together. Sighing as he felt a headache coming on, he tried to will it away as he yawned, the fatigue of being woken up abruptly in the early morning to perform sexual favors catching up to him.

He massaged his temples and willed his anger away, choosing to deal with the moneyless Marimo later, if later should ever come. Yawning again, he made to lock the door (never could be too careful around these parts) before slowly making his way back into his bedroom.

He dropped Zoro's crumpled money into the top drawer of his dresser to join the rest of his whore money before he flopped back onto his bed and turned out the lamp, drifting off into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

Zoro woke up later that morning tired and with a dim recollection of what had transpired hours before. He was not under any circumstances a morning person, and took a while to fully wake up, but as his brain began to do so and he went about his morning routine, the memories slowly drifted back to him and he found himself grinning goofily at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Zoro the virgin was a virgin no more!

His good mood shattered instantly when he heard a crash come up from downstairs, and he groaned. That crash meant that his roommate was awake and probably trying to cook himself breakfast, which spelt disaster; especially since his roommate was one Monkey D. Luffy, and Monkey D. Luffy had absolutely no skills in the kitchen.

As the smell of something burning reached his nostrils, Zoro growled and exited the bathroom, yelling down the stairs at his incompetent roommate.

"Oi, Luffy! What the hell're you doing?"

Another crash sounded and Zoro flinched as Luffy yelped.

"I'm hungryyyyyy!" the boy downstairs wailed.

Zoro frowned as the smoke alarm went off and he slapped his palm to his face as he went back into the bathroom.

'_Great.' _He thought. _'Just another day in the life._'

The daily morning kitchen fire was nothing out of the ordinary for the two strange men sharing the townhouse; in fact, it had become routine. After the smoke alarm went off, Luffy's brother Ace and his friend Smoker would come over on call from the fire department and hang out, seeing as how no one else could put up with Luffy's disastrous cooking attempts.

At least they were in good knowledge that their smoke alarm worked properly.

Ace was leaning back against the kitchen counter hiding a not-so subtle grin behind a mug of coffee he'd had the swordsman brew up for him. Zoro threw Luffy's older brother vehement glares as he scrubbed the dishes in the sink. He knew what Ace was going to say, and prepared to respond when he vocalized what Zoro knew was coming.

"You really _are_ like his wife." Ace snickered out with a laugh, and Zoro yelled angrily, aiming the plate in hand at the head of the cackling firefighter.

"Shut up! Don't say that!" Zoro growled as Ace left the kitchen, placing his empty mug on the counter for Luffy's 'wife' to clean out.

"Don't you want to be my wife, Zoro?" Luffy asked, peeking his head into the kitchen area with a look of hurt etched onto his naïve face.

Zoro just sighed and massaged his temples, turning back to the pile of dishes as Luffy giggled and left, choosing to wail his woes to the two men in the den. The green-haired man shook his head but didn't bother trying to hide the amused smile that had worked its way onto his face.

If anyone asked Zoro if he liked living with the young boy who thought he was a pirate, he'd deny that he did; no questions asked. It wasn't that he was embarrassed that he was housed up with the young man, but rather it was his masculine disposition to deny having enjoyed anything. Although he never admit it out loud, there wasn't anyone else Zoro would've chosen to room. It amused him to no end what kind of situations Luffy would get them into, and he wouldn't trade those misadventures for anything in the world. Besides, good friends were hard for Zoro to come across; he'd had practically none before he met Luffy.

He finished up the dishes and washed his hands before going out into the den to find that Ace and Smoker had engaged in a heated round of Tekken that had most likely been instigated by Luffy.

"Hadouken!" Ace shouted. "Hadouken, hadouken _hadouken!_"

"Stop it, Portgus!" Smoker shouted out from his spot on the floor as he continued mashing the buttons on his controller angrily in an attempt to tip the scales. It didn't seem like he knew what he was doing and had resorted to pure button mashing just to get by.

Luffy was sitting cross-legged on their couch laughing maniacally as Ace continued to beat Smoker silly. Zoro chuckled to himself as he crossed his arms and shook his head in amusement, and joined Luffy on the couch as Ace continued yelling 'hadouken!' When Ace finally won, grinning and beaming, Smoker stood up with a growl and tossed the controller to Luffy who eagerly took the older man's spot on the floor. Smoker sat back onto the couch with a grunt as the two brothers picked their characters. The match began and the two engaged in another intense battle as they both tilted and leaned into their moves, yelling loudly at each other.

"I can't believe I'm being paid to do this." Smoker said as he chuckled around his cigar, watching as the once virtual fight began to get physical. Luffy elbowed into Ace, who pushed back into his brother angrily before they ended up abandoning the controllers all together to wrestle around loudly on the floor.

Zoro ha'd in agreement as Ace and Luffy got increasingly violent, but neither man on the couch made any move to break up the fight, enjoying the battle far too much.

"If only I was so lucky." Zoro said, shaking his head, chuckling.

"I forgot some people actually have to work for a living. How's that sword school treatin' ya?"

Zoro shrugged and stretched his arms out across the back of the couch, watching as Ace tried to pry Luffy's face in half, stretching it wildly.

"Eh, they cut my hours again; I'm starting to look for a second job."

Zoro shrugged as Smoker eyed him from out the corner of his eye in concern for his friend; the swordsman was no stranger to money problems, and all of them knew how much trouble he tended to get into when his wallet was thin.

"You didn't tell me that." His roommate accused, the fight halting as a serious topic began to unfold.

Luffy's dark, serious eyes were out of place on his usually childish face, and Zoro couldn't help but look away; he couldn't stand to see Luffy looking so serious. It was unsettling. He sighed and let his head hang back over the edge of the sofa to gaze up at the ceiling to avoid that dark, deadly gaze. It was obvious everyone felt rather awkward as they settled into an uncomfortable silence.

The happy and carefree atmosphere went out the window as no one spoke, letting the game's noises take residence and play on in the background. Zoro felt the weight of the sofa shift as Smoker rose to his feet and beckoned for Ace to follow after him, scooping up his hat along the way. The green haired man watched as the odd pair got their stuff together and made their way to the front door where they turned back and gave them a wave goodbye.

"See you tomorrow, guys." Ace said in cheery reminder as they exited the townhouse and shut the door behind them, leaving the two companions alone.

"Hope not." Zoro murmured as he let his head fall back against the couch, shutting his eyes. He could tell Luffy still had that stern gaze on his face and was watching him carefully, but Zoro wasn't in the right mind to deal with that drama right then.

Zoro started and coughed loudly when he felt Luffy jump up onto his lap, prying his eyes open with his fingers to peer into them with a seemingly angry aura.

"Are you having money problems again, Zoro?"

He frowned and cast his eyes away from Luffy's, pushing the smaller man off his lap and onto the floor with ease. Money problems? Well, not yet, but at the rate he was going it wouldn't be long before it got bad. He was glad that the rent was halved between the two of them; it certainly made that less of a problem, but with his job cutting back on his hours yet again, it'd be hard to pay it even if it was halved.

Zoro was sure Luffy'd spot him the money if it came down to that, but his pride as a man forbade him to rely on other people; he had to be able to pay for his half of the rent on his own.

"Don't worry about it, Luffy." He said, getting off the couch and stretching, all the while noting that Luffy didn't take his eyes off him once.

"But you're my wife, Zoro; I have to worry about it."

"I told you not to call me that." Zoro sighed and locked eyes with his concerned roommate. "Seriously, I'm fine. Plenty of money stashed away."

Luffy looked skeptical, but he allowed the argument to die as he too sighed. He turned back to the tv screen and grabbed up one of the controllers and offered one to Zoro, who declined it.

"I'm gonna take a nap before work." Zoro said with a yawn to illustrate his point before turning back to the staircase.

"But you just woke up!"

* * *

While Zoro and Luffy had been entertaining their guests, Sanji was still lying in bed, having long ago turned off his alarm to abide with his decision to not to go to school that day. As the sun crept through the blinds and cascaded over his eyelids, his eyebrows knit together and he groaned, stirring in his sleep.

He opened his eyes groggily, turning over onto his side to escape the sunlight that was inching through the blinds. He yawned and cracked the bones in his toes before he glanced at his clock, which gave him a digital readout of 11:30 a.m.

Sanji blinked and hid back under his blankets; he didn't have work for another… 4 and a half hours. He let his eyes shut briefly as a wave of sleepiness overcame him and he let his eyes flutter shut as he went into a light slumber. The next time he opened his eyes it was 12:15, and he was hungry.

Scowling, he roused himself to get out of bed and stumbled into the conjoining bathroom to start the shower and brush his teeth. He noted the dull pain that had begun to make itself known due to last nights experimentations, but he ignored it in favor of freshening himself up. Sanji finished his business at the sink and took a quick shower, choosing not to dress himself after he'd finished and walking out into his kitchen clad in nothing but the white towel around his waist.

Much more awake from the shower, he wandered into his kitchen to do what he enjoyed doing most (besides having sex)- cooking. He let himself smile softly as he went about cooking up a late breakfast, completely forgetting Zoro's lack of payment for the night before, losing himself to the familiar feel of cutting and frying.

Just another day in the life.

**A/N: **Fixed up some issues with Zoro's character again, and tried to make the transitions between scenes smoother.


	3. Summer '68

'_We said goodbye before we've said hello;_

_I hardly even like you, I shouldn't care at all._

_We met just 6 hours ago; the music was too loud._

_From your bed I gained a day and lost a bloody year.'_

_**- Summer '68, Pink Floyd**_

"_Your legs are hairy."_

_The comment had caught Sanji off guard, causing him to pause in his menstruations to throw Zoro a small glare before continuing with what he was doing._

"_Yea? And why shouldn't they be?"_

"_I dunno." Zoro said, slowly running a rough hand up Sanji's leg with an amused expression. "Just couldn't see it before. Your hair's so blonde, I thought they were clean."_

Sanji scoffed at the ceiling as he let a smoke ring slip through his lips. That green-haired dolt. What did he expect? Of course his legs were hairy; he _was _a man, after all. If that idiot had wanted smooth legs then he should've sought out a _lady _of the night to fuck instead of coming to him.

"Idiot." He murmured, allowing another smoke ring to slide by.

He was virtually immobile except for the slight parting of his lips to allow formed smoke to flow out. Sanji licked his lips as he frowned up at the ceiling- a nervous habit of his when he became overly distressed. Yes, the great Sanji Blackleg was wracked in a bout of nervous apprehension. He'd hoped that recounting the previous nights events would help set him at ease, but to no avail. Nothing he did seemed to be calming him down as his leg began to bob up and down haphazardly.

This was just like the bastard to keep him waiting; not that Sanji wanted to associate with him in the first place, but-

"_I want it with whipped cream on it; baby gimme gimme gimme your love."_

Sanji jumped up as his phone rang. It felt as though his heart'd beat right out of his chest as his phone continued on, spouting the words of that popular song into the room. His hand was shaking badly as he put out the cigarette he'd been smoking and he swallowed hard, preparing himself the phone call he'd been dreading. He let the phone ring a while longer as he tried to compose himself long enough to be able to talk without letting his discomfort shine through.

"_But you got plenty, honey, I don't think it's funny; gotta give it give it give it or else."_

'_Deep breaths, Sanji. In and out. In. And out.' _The blonde chanted to himself, sucking in the air deeply through his nose before exhaling out his mouth gently. He flipped open his phone and prayed inwardly that his voice wouldn't shake. "Sanji here."

"How's my favorite little whore?"

"…" Sanji's brow creased as he gripped his phone in a tight clench. He glared angrily at his leg that was still jumping up and down against his will, and he longed for a smoke. The man on the phone laughed roughly as if he knew (which he probably did) that Sanji wanted a cigarette, but smoking was not something the man on the line approved of, if only for the sole purpose of making Sanji uncomfortable, which he seemed to excel at doing.

"Sanji, Sanji, _Sanji._ Tell me what you've got this month, won't you darling?"

That lump that Sanji had been trying to swallow down earlier re-emerged and caught in his throat, and he had to cough it away before he could continue without his voice hitching. It was always straight to the point with this man; wasted time was wasted money.

"$3500."

A silence creeped through the receiver and Sanji closed his eyes, fearing the worst before the man's gravelly voice growled in disapproval.

"That's not nearly enough, Sanji."

"I know." His voice cracked and he chastised himself mentally; to show any sign of weakness while in the company of this man was death; Arlong was a very dangerous man, one who knew how to exploit weakness' well, and to show him yours spelt doom.

As if Arlong had read his mind, the man chuckled darkly and Sanji had to swallow down another lump. His leg was still bounding up and down wildly and he had to remind himself to take deep even breaths, lest he forget to breathe altogether.

"Sanji, you know what'll happen if you don't come up with the money."

The sound of a match striking flint and lighting up had Sanji freeze abruptly as his eyes shot open in horror. The phone nearly dropped out of his hand as he leaned forward off the sofa, yelling loudly into the phone.

"No! Don't!"

Arlong chuckled again, and although Sanji couldn't see it, he casually shook out the match's flame before discarding it onto the ground and beginning to laugh.

"Sanji, you're gonna haveta pull out all the stops to get me what she owes; I don't care if that means you have to sleep with men or stand out on the god damn corners at night; you're going to get me that money."

Sanji felt faint as he sat back into the sofa and draped an arm across his eyes; he didn't give a shit about any of that, he was just glad Arlong hadn't done anything drastic with that match. He could've…

No. Sanji shook the thought from his head as he frowned into the crook of his arm.

"Y'know, Sanji, you're not doing Nami any favors-"

"Don't you say her name!" Sanji shouted.

To hear that bastard say her name had instantaneous affects on him; the amount of anger he felt when he heard that name from Arlong's mouth was overwhelming and shocking, and his shaky leg was shaking for an entirely different reason now.

It was itching to kick Arlong square in the face, now. His knuckles were turning white as he clutched his phone tightly in a death grip. When he heard that bastard's ravenous laughter, Sanji had to scowl at himself in disgust.

"Fine, fine. You're not doing that _bitch _any favors by doing her job for her. You wouldn't have to go through any of this if you let her do it herself."

"I can't stand to see a beautiful woman degraded in such a fashion." He said evenly; his original unease and the anger he had felt moments before having boiled over into something that was a quaint mixture of the two. He fumed quietly as he waited for Arlong to continue on in his annoying fashion.

"HA." Arlong's laugh was loud and sharp, causing Sanji to flinch and hold the phone away from his ear briefly. "She's just using you to get out of owing me money. That's what she does, Sanji; she's a con. Whatever, though; not my problem. Just as long as I get the money. You have one week, Sanji. One. Week."

And with that, the line was dead and the conversation was over. How like Arlong to leave no room for compromise or objection; it truly was Arlong's way or the highway.

Sanji wanted nothing more than to stand up and throw the phone against the wall and watch it explode in an angry fit of rage, but he knew he didn't have the money to afford a new one. Instead, he stood up, pocketed the device and lit that long anticipated cigarette he'd been itching to smoke before putting on his coat and storming out of his apartment and angrily heading off toward the Baratie.

* * *

As if his life couldn't get any worse.

"We tried to tell her you weren't here, but she just kept on-"

Sanji massaged his brow as he felt a headache coming on; he _really_ didn't need any of this shit right now.

"What'd she say?"

The chef he was talking to outside the side entrance of the Baratie seemed to be wracked in nervousness as he tried to explain Sanji's situation to him.

Apparently someone he'd slept with before for pay had caused a commotion inside the restaurant and had compromised Sanji's work status. This was terrible; if Sanji couldn't work, he had no earthly idea how he was going to fork up Arlong's money in time- and that was simply unacceptable.

"Well, first she just asked for you; she looked a little upset, but she really lost it when we told her you weren't in." the cook rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Then I guess she thought we were covering for you or something, 'cause then she just went ape-shit and started screaming.

"She said that you got her pregnant, and she wanted a refund. Then she started throwing shit around and disrupting the costumers, and Patty came out-"

"Oh, God…" Sanji rubbed his face angrily, picturing the hectic scene in his head.

"Yea, then when he and the girl got real loud, Zeff came out and demanded to know what the hell was going on, so she told him that you'd gotten her pregnant and wanted a re-"

"Yes," hissed Sanji, "I know what _she_ said. What'd the _old geezer _say?"

"He uh, wanted to know what she wanted a refund for. When she told him what it was for, he was, uh, less than pleased with you. He got this weird look on his face and told Patty to throw her out. Then he went into his office, and no one's seen him since. I think it's best if you stay away for a while; who knows what Zeff'll do if he see's you."

"Son of a _bitch._" Sanji said, kicking the wall in frustration. How the fuck was he supposed to get Arlong's money now? "Fuck!"

The weedy looking chef just looked on apologetically before leaving Sanji to his own devices and retiring to his duties inside the Baratie. Sanji's teeth ground down hard around the cigarette butt in his mouth as he stalked out of the alley, glaring at the people passing by. He watched the people pass, stewing in his anger when lo and behold, he happened to catch a glimpse of something familiar.

That green haired idiot from the night before was stepping out of a ratty looking car across the street and making his way into a roadside store. It was Zoro; the bastard who'd fucked and run!

His interest piqued with the desire to get his money back, he set his anger aside momentarily to toss away his cigarette. He followed after Zoro, making sure the street was clear before he crossed it. Giving Zoro's car a passing glance, he crept up to the building the man had entered and peeked in through the window.

From what little Sanji knew concerning the subject, he gathered that the place was a dojo of some sort. He noticed Zoro standing around idly with his back to the window, appearing to be talking with a couple of guys who seemed to be chatting animatedly with him. Sanji's breath condensed on the window and pretty soon the dojo slipped from view with the fog of his breahing. He stepped back and sucked on a new, unlit cigarette with a raised eyebrow before resting back against the car Zoro had been driving.

The hood was still warm against the cold environment, giving momentary heat to Sanji's body as he tucked his face down into the collar of his coat and lit his smoke, hunkering down and preparing for a long wait.

Yes, Sanji was in fact planning on waiting out in the snow until Zoro re-emerged from the building. He had a number of reasons for doing so, of course. For one, he wanted what was owed and didn't know when or if he'd ever see the guy again. On top of that, he could probably hitch a ride from the guy. Since he wasn't familiar with the bus schedule at this hour, it'd probably take him longer to walk back home than to wait for the public transportation to pick him up. And, of course, as a bonus on the way home he might just be able to coerce Zoro to go for a round two, earning more money for Sanji.

He smirked at his reflection in the window as he blew out a stream of smoke, waiting for the man to come out and see him sitting there comfortably on the hood of his vehicle.

* * *

"Ugh, just shut up Johnny; you're getting really annoying."

Sanji's head snapped up as he heard Zoro's voice. The idiot was leaving the dojo with the two men he'd been speaking with earlier. None of them seemed to have noticed Sanji yet, and so he continued to smoke idly on Zoro's car, watching as the three men interacted.

"Yea, Johnny! Stop bugging Zoro!"

"You're twice as annoying, Yosaku!"

"Both of you just _shut up_."

Zoro looked thoroughly annoyed at the two's bickering as he wiggled his pinky around in his ear with a frown on his face. His two companions began to shove at each other and Zoro just sighed, drawing out his car keys silently, when he noticed Sanji sitting atop his car. He looked surprised, and all Sanji could do in response wa quirk his brow at him.

"Uh…"

"Who's that, Zoro?"

The two had stopped their bickering to look curiously at the blonde chef perched atop their senpai's car. Zoro frowned at Sanji before turning back to his friends, glancing back over at Sanji as if to make sure he was really there, and not some kind of weird hallucination.

"He's no one; go home."

"Bu-"

"Go. Home."

The two threw sulky looks over their shoulders as they shuffled off down the street and away from their friend, leaving him alone with Sanji, who, in turn, yawned and got up off Zoro's car to gaze at him with mild disinterest.

"No one, huh?" he said, flicking his cigarette away as Zoro returned his attention to the blonde and the issue at hand.

"Shut up. What do you want?"

Sanji rolled his eyes.

"What do you think?"

Zoro sighed and kneaded his forehead with his knuckles as Sanji continued to gaze at him casually. It wasn't hard to see that Zoro appeared worn, what with the way he was acting. Looked like the moss head was having a rough day, not that Sanji cared; his day hadn't been really all that great thus far either.

"Look, I don't have the money on me. It's all back at my place."

He was looking at Sanji with something akin to exhaustion and disappointment. Sanji studied him briefly before he shrugged and walked over to the passenger door, looking at Zoro expectantly, but the other man just looked blank.

"C'mon, asshole; unlock the doors."

Zoro blinked and raised his eyebrow with a frown. "What? Why?"

"You're giving me a ride, dumbass. It's the least you could do, after all I-"

"Fine, fine. Whatever."

He cut Sanji off and approached his car, taking out his keys and unlocking the door manually. Sanji tried the handle, but the door didn't open until Zoro had stretched across the interior to pop the lock. His car really was a piece of shit.

Sanji sidled in and closed the door, resting back into the lumpy seat without bothering to do the seat belt. It took three tries before Zoro could finally get the car to start, and even then it sounded as though it'd give out at any minute. Zoro buckled up (he'd seen Zombieland; he knew the repercussions of not wearing a seat belt) and threw a disapproving look at Sanji before backing out and pulling on to the main road.

"Where'm I going?" He glanced at Sanji, who who seemed to be busy messing with the car's air conditioner unit. Zoro snickered to himself. "The heater's broken; it won't work."

"Well shit." Sanji growled, glaring at the air vents before cracking the window and lighting up a cigarette. "It's fucking colder in here than it is out there."

"Whatever. You were the one who asked for a ride. Speaking of, where the hell am I supposed to be taking you?"

Sanji glanced at him with a raised brow before blowing out some smoke in Zoro's direction, smoke that Zoro had found strangely alluring the night before but now found annoying and overly done.

"I thought it was obvious. You're taking me back to your place so you can get me my damn money. And _maybe, _if you're lucky, I'll let you have another go."

Zoro jerked the wheel, startled at the implications of what Sanji was suggesting. He waved apologetically at the car he'd almost run into as it honked rudely at him and scowled at Sanji, who smirked nonchalantly back at him. The blonde then flicked some ashes out the window and suppressed a laugh, trying hard not to when Zoro was looking at him that angrily.

"Absolutely not." Zoro growled out. "I'll take you to get your money, but after that I want you gone; I don't need you hanging around."

Sanji grinned and blew more smoke at Zoro, who satisfied Sanji with another frown.

"What, I wasn't good enough for you?" he cooed seductively.

Zoro's frown only deepened as he refused to comment, making Sanji chuckle.

They pulled up the driveway to the small townhouse Zoro shared with Luffy. Zoro sighed. The little Moped Luffy usually rode around on was parked out front, which meant he was home. Which wasn't bad, but if his roommate noticed Sanji, he'd never let him leave, and again, Zoro didn't want the blonde to stick around. He didn't need Sanji trying to corrupt Luffy or some shit like that.

He opened his mouth to instruct Sanji to stay in the car, but the blonde was already out and looking up at the house. Zoro cursed under his breath and hastily exited his car, snapping his fingers at Sanji to catch his attention.

"Oi. Get back in the car, I won't take long."

"Fuck that, it's cold as balls out here." Sanji looked at Zoro as if he were crazy and strode up the path to the front door as the other man gave chase, catching up and grabbing hold of Sanji's arm in a hurried attempt to get him to turn back.

"No, really. Stay in the car; my roommate's home and he-"

"ZOROOOOO!"

"Shit."

**A/N: **Alright, so, changed some more things again; mostly some grammatical errors. And again, I tried to make the transitions between scenes smoother, and, haha, I ended up changing Sanji's ringtone. It's still a Ludo song, but instead of Love Me Dead it's Whipped Cream, which comes from their new (and awesome) album Prepare the Preparations.


	4. Play Three Again

'_I'll count the stars from a broken gate_

'_till all the neighbors call me names and tell me_

_How they hate how I changed so much._

_I used to smile and talk about love_

_But now I'm alone and my hair is so long.'_

_**Play Three Again, Backseat Goodbye**_

Sanji could only stand back, wide-eyed, as a bundle of limbs came flailing out the front door to latch on to the other man. Zoro let out a string of curses as he caught his roommate and nearly fell over with the added weight, trying to pry the energetic boy off.

"Zorooooooo!"

Unsure if he should attempt to help the moss-head or not, Sanji watched with an amused expression as Zoro finally managed to squirm out of the younger boy's tight grasp, knocking Luffy over the top of the head in punishment.

"Ow ow ow! Zorooo, you bastard; that hurt!" He spoke with a giggle; laughing animatedly as he clutched the spot Zoro had knocked his fist into. Sanji couldn't help but snort out a laugh and shake his head. Was this guy for real?

Luffy soon noticed that Zoro had brought along someone he'd never met before and thusly alerted himself accordingly, immediately eyeing Sanji up and down with a huge Luffy brand smile before striking out his hand in greeting.

"Hi! I'm Luffy; that's Zoro, my wife. Who're you?"

Sanji snickered at Zoro before shaking Luffy's hand.

"Sanji." He took his cigarette in his fingers to blow smoke out at Zoro, who stood off to the side, quietly fuming. "Is _this _the girlfriend you were talking about?"

Zoro looked absolutely aghast at the thought as he froze; his face a perfect mask of horror at Sanji's implications.

"What? No!"

"Girlfriend?" Luffy cocked his head questioningly at the marimo and crossed his arms, appearing a little cross. "Zoro has a girlfriend? Since when? Ahh, Zorooooo! Are you cheating on me? Wait till Nami hears about this!"

The boy ran play crying back into the house, sobbing into his arm as Zoro sighed and rubbed his head, annoyed at the boy's loud antics. For Sanji, though, any and all humor in the situation had flown the coop. He stood rigid and still, letting his cigarette hang limply in his hand.

"Nami?" He spoke quietly, not entirely aware he had spoken at all. Was she here? What was her connection with these guys; particularly with that young boy? It seemed that everywhere he went, that orange haired vixen had connections that always seemed to manifest themselves around him. He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed Zoro watching him curiously.

"Uh, yea. She's Luffy's_ actual_ girlfriend. You uh, you know her?" Zoro walked past the momentarily stunned blonde to stand in the doorway to peer in after Luffy, making sure he hadn't broken anything upon his re-entrance.

Sanji shook himself out of his stupor and quickly regained his composure, letting a soft smile grace his lips as he shook his head, taking a drag from his cigarette that had momentarily been forgotten.

"Nah, I doubt it's the same person."

'_Yea. Nami's a common name; it could be anyone. Besides, Luffy isn't exactly Nami's type.'_

Zoro quirked his eyebrow at the statement but shrugged, letting the topic drop before heading inside to make sure Luffy wasn't drowning in his own tears or something equally as dramatic. Sanji followed in behind him, continuing to reason with himself that there was no possible way that Luffy's Nami and his Nami were the same, when he thumped into Zoro's outstretched arm. Sanji raised one elegantly curled eyebrow as he puffed more smoke into Zoro's face, wondering why he'd been halted and denied entrance.

"No smoking inside." Zoro said, swatting away the smoke. "Lord knows we need _those _two coming over again."

Zoro and Luffy's home was better looking than Sanji admittedly thought it'd be. The walls were a light, creamy color and the carpet was a deep, plush red. He hung up his long, black coat on the coat rack behind the door and moved out of the way so Zoro could shut out the cold. The moss-haired man brushed past him with a 'wait here' before climbing up the stairs and out of sight. Sanji stood by the door and idly began to look around, not entirely sure what to do with himself.

Luffy was nowhere in sight, and Sanji concluded that he was either upstairs or around the divider that separated the main room and the kitchen, which he felt the need to explore. Kitchens were his natural habitat, after all. He heard some dull thuds come from up above as he wandered around the wide room, but paid them no mind as he continued on with his exploration of the room. There wasn't much to the place, he discovered; just the living room he was in, the kitchen, and a door to the right.

Before he could do any form of investigating, Luffy came bumping down the stairs and propelled himself onto their only piece of furniture in the room, which happened to be a nice looking couch. The boy looked up at Sanji expectantly with that huge grin across his face and gestured for him to take a seat where he'd been sitting while he jumped off and sat cross-legged on the floor.

"Wanna play Tekken with me?"

Zoro thumped down the stairs shortly after, casting a surly look at the two of them before Sanji could respond. He approached Sanji, who had taken up the boy's offer to sit on the remarkably comfy sofa and gave Luffy a wary look.

"What happened to talking to Nami?"

"She hung up on me." If possible, that grin spread wider. Sanji had no idea why having his girlfriend hang up on him would yield such results, but he decided not to question it as Luffy giggled.

Zoro rolled his eyes before directing his attention back to the blonde lounging on the sofa as Luffy began to set up the game.

"Here's your money."

Sanji took the proffered money and pocketed it, nodding his thanks before turning back to the rather large tv screen before him as it flickered to life and the Tekken theme erupted loudly.

"Money for what?" Luffy yelled as he quickly turned down the volume. He glanced back at Zoro with a questioning look in his eye as he handed over a controller to Sanji, but Zoro, having none of it, snatched the thing up with an irritated look before the blonde could even think of taking it.

"Nothing. He helped me out with something; that's all. Ready to go?"

"Whaaaaa? But he just got here! We were gonna play Tekken! Zorooooooo!"

Luffy pouted and made to grab the controller back, but Zoro knew all Luffy's tricks and easily avoided Luffy's grab, holding the controller high above his head and at an angle he knew the monkey boy couldn't get at.

"Yea _'Zorooooo'_; we wanna play." Sanji repeated, a teasing air to his voice.

The blonde snickered at Zoro as he too came to stand, easily matching Zoro's height (perhaps even topping it), and plucking the controller from the man. Zoro scowled and shook his head while Luffy cheered, praising Sanji and his advantageously long legs. The chef sat back down and crossed his said limbs, looking smug as Zoro threw up his hands, exasperated.

"I _knew _this would happen, dammit."

In truth, Sanji didn't really want to play Tekken; hell, he hadn't even heard of it before now, but he didn't want to leave, either. It was unexplainable, but he liked Luffy's childish aura and how he seemed to accept Sanji without question. It was like they were already best friends, and though it was weird, he liked it. It was almost as though he were being given a second chance at a friendship he hadn't known he'd lost.

Something about that monkey boy.

* * *

"Look, guys, loooooooook! It's snowing! _SNOW_!"

True to his word, one glance out the window showed that it was, in fact, snowing like Luffy had claimed. Snowing hard, in fact. The white stuff was coming down in hordes, adding to the already large piles of the stuff outside. It was surprising that none of them had noticed it before, but the intense matches of Tekken that had since transpired had successfully controlled their attention for the past couple hours.

Yes, hours. It was a more addictive game than Sanji thought it'd been.

Luffy cast aside his controller and began to jump up and down wildly, cheering for the little white flakes that descended. Sanji didn't particularly care for snow, as they had enough of it already, but watching Luffy become so excited over something so simple formed an amused look to crawl on his face. Zoro was considerably less impressed with Luffy's display, and rolled his eyes before chuckling deeply.

Sensing that their video game brawling match was done, Sanji placed the controller on the floor and sank back into the couch, stretching for a while before settling back, his limbs tingling from the release. He glanced over at the digital clock on their DVR and blanched; 8 pm? Where the fuck had all that time gone?

Looking away from Luffy, Zoro caught sight of Sanji's blank stare and followed it, frowning deeply when he saw the time.

"Shit." He said as he scratched the back of his head. Zoro had to pick himself up from his perch on the wall to walk to the door and open it, sizing up just how much snow had fallen while they were inattentive. He uttered another low 'shit' as he shut the door, pressing his palm to his forehead in agitation as he realized that they'd waited too long.

"What?" Sanji looked to Zoro when he'd cursed, but then to Luffy when Zoro didn't respond to find that the hyper boy had stopped cheering to look at him blankly. "_What?_"

Just like that, that grin that seemed to permanently decorate Luffy's face erupted across it once more as he began to run around wildly, screeching 'Sleepover, sleepover!' to the walls and ceiling above. As Luffy was running around maniacally, Sanji turned to look at Zoro with a raised brow and confusion drawn all over his face.

"What's he talking about?"

Zoro sighed and gave him a half-heartedly apologetic look. "I can't drive at night; my headlights are out and I haven't gone to fix them yet. _And _there's way too much snow for my hunk-a-junk to possibly get through."

"Wait, what?"

"Sleeeeeeeepoveeeeeeer!"

Luffy had jumped up on to the couch and was bouncing up and down madly, nearly stomping on Sanji in the process and earning a disapproving 'oi' from Zoro.

It appeared he was stranded. Stranded with these two people he really didn't know, but was oddly attracted to. He supposed he could always _walk _home…but that was a lot of snow, and a lot of snow meant a lot of cold, which was something Sanji didn't really like. And on top of all that, it was dark, and who knew what kind of creeps came out in this weather? The blonde looked Luffy in the eye sullenly. The black haired boy knew resignation when he saw it and screeched loudly in delight, ignoring Zoro's protest.

"_HOO-_RAH! SLEEPOVER! ZORO, MAKE US SOME FOOD TO CELEBRATE! I'M STARVING!"

"Keep it down, Luffy; if we get another complaint from the neighbors-"

"ZORO. FOOOOOOOOD."

Zoro threw up his hands in defeat for the second time that night and made his way into the kitchen as Luffy continued hopping up and down demanding food loudly. Afraid of being trampled, Sanji took his leave of the couch and followed the moss-headed man back around to the kitchen. Forgetting Zoro's rules against not smoking (and from not having had one for what seemed like several hours), Sanji tapped out a cigarette from the pack he kept with him and stuck it in his lips.

"What's for dinner?" he asked curiously, the chef in him intrigued by prospective dinner meals.

Zoro cast him a look over his shoulder and frowned, yanking the unlit bud out of Sanji's lips and on to the floor before the blonde had a chance to light it.

"Hey, what the hell, man?"

"I told you no smoking, dickwad."

Sanji scowled angrily before helping himself up onto the counter, lounging back on his arms to watch Zoro move about the kitchen. Abnormal behavior for a mere guest and acquaintance maybe, but Sanji felt considerably more at home in any kitchen, even if it was not his own.

Zoro either didn't care or didn't notice where Sanji had taken up roost as he went about scrounging through the cabinets, focused only on beginning to prepare something that would satisfy Luffy's large appetite as Sanji watched on with interest. Luffy had gone back to playing Tekken, and his loud, jubilant cheers managed to find their way to them from the living room, causing Zoro to grin and shake his head in an amused fashion.

"Hey."

Zoro didn't look up to reply.

"What?"

"Mind if I make dinner? It'd take my mind off not being able to smoking, since you're so damn adamant about it."

Without waiting for a response, Sanji hopped off the counter and shoved a slightly startled Zoro aside to raid their cupboards, scouring with a talented eye to find anything to work with.

"I guess I should be asking you, then; what's for dinner?" Zoro's brow was raised as Sanji brought out a large pot and thrust it into his capable arms.

"Fill it with water." He said as he crouched down to look through the cabinets under the counter as Zoro brought the pot to the sink to begin filling it. "Not much to work with here. All you have is this ramen shit."

He stood up with a couple packs of the instant ramen to prove his point, scowling at the packs. Zoro rolled his eyes but finished filling up the pot before setting it on the stove. Sanji looked at it with a scrutinizing gaze before he shook his head and motioned for Zoro to start again.

"That's too much, dump some out."

With a sigh Zoro brought the pot back to the sink and tipped it a bit to allow the water to seep over the edge while Sanji went about opening up the packages of uncooked noodles. Zoro clunked the pot back in front of the blonde who looked at it momentarily before shaking his head once again.

"You spilt too much."

"Does it really matter?"

The glare on Sanji's face clearly answered the question.

* * *

"Sanji, that was deliciousssss! You need to be our personal cook!"

Luffy sat back in his chair patting his stomach contently. Sanji shook his head, smiling as he rounded up the bowls to dump in the sink. Zoro's arm was draped over the back of his chair as he went about picking his teeth with his fingers; his way of complimenting the chef.

"I doubt you could afford me. And cut that out, it's disgusting." Sanji commented as he ran the dishes under some water. He heard the marimo grunt and he rolled his eyes before he came back to sit at the table, folding his hands over themselves before looking between the two. "So…Where'm I sleeping?"

Luffy and Zoro both paused simultaneously before casting each other 'we didn't think this out' looks. Sanji felt his eyebrow creasing steadily upwards as he looked between the two of the, a frown settling on his face.

"Uhh…"

Sanji dumped his head into his hand and rubbed his forehead. "I'll just sleep on the couch, then."

"No!" Luffy's screech caught the two of them by surprise, even as the raven-haired boy burst up from his seat. The two of them blinked as he threw out his finger, pointing first at Sanji and then to Zoro. "Since Sanji's _your_ guest, he gets to sleep with you!"

Sanji snickered and Zoro elbowed him in the ribs. "What the hell, Luffy. He can just sleep on the couch."

"No! That's not tradition! Friends are supposed to sleep in the same room together when they have sleepovers!" Luffy pouted and crossed his arms, looking huffily at his roommate, daring him to challenge his logic.

This time it was Sanji and Zoro's turn to exchange looks; Zoro's of annoyance and unease while the other seemed genuinely confused. The blonde was about to say something when Luffy slapped his hand over his mouth. Startled, he blinked at Luffy who was now waving a finger and smiling coyly at him.

"No and's if's or but's about it!" he was grinning wildly as he pulled back his hand. "You're bunking with Zoro, and I won't have it any other way!"

* * *

Sanji was perched on the doorframe that led into Zoro's bedroom, watching without interest as Zoro went about fixing up a futon, grumbling incoherently all the while. Bored and uninterested, the blonde was soon lost in his thoughts. Hanging out and having dinner with the mismatched friends had done a good job distracting him, but now that the night was winding down to a close, Sanji was left with nothing else to think about.

Arlong. Surely the bastard wouldn't go through with what he'd promised to do if Sanji didn't come up with the money; he wouldn't have any leverage over him if he did. But maybe that was the point. When it came to Arlong, there simply was no knowing what he had in store for you till it was actually happening, and even then his intents and purposes weren't always clear.

A pillow thrown into his face brought him out of his thoughts and he blinked before glaring at the man who'd interrupted his inner ramblings. Zoro rolled his eyes as Sanji bent to pick up the aforementioned pillow, fluffing it testily, prepared to throw it back if the situation called for it.

"There. Here's a blanket." He threw a bundled up maroon blanket in his direction, and Sanji managed to catch it. Zoro grumbled some more before exiting the room and going into the bathroom, leaving Sanji alone.

The blonde scowled after him before turning to the futon that the other man had prepared for him and sat on it, placing the pillow at one end and slipping off his shoes. He brought himself up and lay across the narrow piece of furniture and spread the blanket over his body. He frowned again. Fuck, it was cold. Was everything of Zoro's this bloody cold? And as if that weren't bad enough, he was beginning to crave a cigarette. Badly. Damn it all.

He sighed and made himself as comfortable as he could when Zoro re-entered, slamming the door in the face of his cheery roommate who managed to get out a 'Night Sanji!' before the door shut. More grumbling from the now shirtless (which made Sanji quirk his eyebrow; Zoro had left to take off his shirt? Oh, so _now _he was shy about his body?) Zoro as he flicked off the lights and made his way to his bed, flopping onto it with a grunt. Sanji heard the springs in the mattress creak as the weight of the man's body spread across it. Zoro seemed to shift around for a bit before going still, letting silence flood the room.

Heaving a sigh, Sanji supposed he should try and get some sleep, though it'd be difficult. The futon was too small to sleep on comfortably the blanket wasn't nearly large enough to keep him warm, and worst of all, now that there weren't any distractions, Sanji's thoughts were allowed free reign, and boy did they go wild.

Once upon a time, Sanji had had a dream; a dream to be the best chef in all the world. Of course, now with age and maturity, he'd been forced too dull that dream and lower his expectations to make that dream even somewhat attainable, but the end result was still the same.

He just wanted to be the best, but now that he was involved with Arlong and the man's shady business, that seemed impossible. The diabolical man would always be a dark cloud looming over him, holding a flame to his name. A liability.

A weighty sadness crept into him as he sighed again and shivered, snuggling up into the blanket and peering into the darkness with his one visible eye.

Something about being alone in the dark with heavy thoughts just sparks an immense loneliness in a person. That feeling that you're ultimately alone in the world is so overwhelming; it can drive even the strongest of men to sniveling puddles of self-pity. That feeling of hopelessness coupled with the fact that he was insanely cold (and still craving that blasted cigarette) drove Sanji to leave the poor excuse for a makeshift bed to stand warily by Zoro's bedside.

He let his gaze sweep over the man who was snoring quietly and was relieved to find that he was sound asleep. His limbs were spread haphazardly across the mattress; it was obvious the man was used to sleeping alone. Sanji sat on the edge of the bed and prayed that Zoro was a deep sleeper before the blonde began to rearrange his position. When Sanji successfully had it so Zoro's mass was resting solely on one side of the bed, he crawled in himself and reveled in the warmth that having another body in close proximity brought.

The thought that this was probably the first time Sanji had shared the same bed with someone without being paid to do so filtered through his mind, and he felt the need to laugh sardonically. He peered over at the man sleeping soundly beside him, trying to dispel his negative thoughts and wondered what it felt like to have a partner someone could sleep beside without the person expecting some sexual favor in return.

If just for one night he could feel free from his bonds from Arlong by nestling up against this man he hardly knew, then of course he'd take that chance, no questions asked, even if he knew he'd regret it in the morning. Regrets were just another part of his line of business, and adding one more to the bunch surely wouldn't hurt.

**A/N: **Alright, so, I had a lot of people telling me that Sanji seemed extremely OOC and weak toward the latter end of this chapter, so I edited it in hopes that he wouldn't come off quite as bad as I'd had originally. So hopefully this rewrite proved useful. And uh, that's it! Stay tuned; you guys are great!


	5. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

_'I said, "You're such a sweet young thing,_

_Why d'you do this to yourself?"_

_She looked at me and this is what she said:_

"_Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked;_

_Money don't grow on trees._

_I got bills to pay, mouths to feed,_

_Ain't nothing in this world for free."'_

_**Ain't No Rest for the Wicked, Cage the Elephant  
**_

"Goooood morning sleepyheads! It's 5 a.m. on the dot and you're listening to Jude and Law in the morning!"

A low grumble leaked through Zoro's throat as his alarm went off, rousing him from his deep sleep. The two radio hosts were obnoxiously loud and cheery; an unwelcome intrusion to his ears at such a godforsaken early hour. He draped an arm groggily over his eyes as a frown found it's way onto his face, deepening as he fumbled around with his free hand to slap at the snooze button.

He'd forgotten to turn off his alarm the night before in his haste to get to bed, certain that work would be canceled thanks to the heavy downpour of snow the evening prior. Well, he was certainly suffering for it now.

The two radio announcers continued bantering amongst each other loudly, earning another angry growl from the sleepy, agitated man who'd thought he had a few more hours of sleep left. He continued flailing his hand around to find the offending piece of plastic keeping him awake when something rustled and yawned beside him, causing him to freeze.

Who the fuck was in his bed.

"Jesus, just turn it off already." Mumbled a sleep-laden voice.

Suddenly Zoro wasn't so tired.

With a start, he swung out his arm in a hasty effort to prop himself up in order to give whoever was in his bed a stern, startled glare. All he ended up managing to do, though, was whack the beds other occupant hard upside the head in his haste. The blonde in turn swore loudly, sitting up abruptly to rub his head and glare seedily at the man beside him with burning resentment.

"What the shit was that for, asshole?"

"What in the _hell _are you doing in my bed is a better question! I set up the god damn futon for you!" He shouted, pointing angrily at the futon he had indeed set up for Sanji the night before.

Sanji in turn rubbed his head and rolled his eyes, clearly thinking Zoro was overreacting about the whole situation- which he was. He tucked himself back under the hefty blanket adorning the mattress and turned his back to Zoro, waving a carefree hand over his shoulder.

"Relax, meathead; I didn't molest you, you didn't-" Here Sanji yawned and brought his hand back to rest against his body under the covers. "You didn't pay me to."

Zoro blinked at the blonde's nonchalant answer as he slowly fell back to sleep, his lithe body rising and falling gently in rhythmic slumber. It was like Sanji was used to this; that response just seemed, so…so practiced. Like it was used a thousand times before, and he had to remind himself that it probably had been.

"-to help you sleepyheads wake up, we'll start the morning off right with some Van Halen! Hope all y'all out there are hot for teacher!"

Jude's (or Law's; it was impossible to tell the difference between the two over the crackling in his speakers) voice pulled Zoro out of his thoughts as the heavy guitar riffs began playing. Now, Zoro appreciated Van Halen as much as the next guy, but when it was 5 am and you'd just discovered an unpaid prostitute in your bed, well, he wasn't as appreciative of the group as he normally would've been. He turned back to the radio and managed to turn it off with a satisfied thwack and leaned back against the headboard to yawn.

He was tired, yes, but he couldn't very well go back to sleep with that stupid blonde asshole taking up half his mattress. Hell, why was he even still _sitting _in the bed with him? What if Sanji pulled some weird sleep-cuddle shit on him?

With a 'tch', Zoro threw back the covers off his body to stand up and stretch out his back, groaning as his spine cracked. Barely stifling another yawn, he shuffled out of his room and into the hall, trodding noisily down the stairs as he scratched himself lazily.

If he couldn't sleep, then at least he could squeeze in a good work out.

Standing by the front door, he supported himself on the wall as he began pulling on his shoes, suppressing yet another yawn before tapping them testily against the floor, making sure they fit properly before opening wide the front door and taking in the snowy scenery before him.

From the looks of it, the snow would probably turn to slush and melt away before the end of the day. Even now, snowplows were combing the streets, screeching along and making the roads safe to drive again.

A chill breeze blew by, causing him to shiver and at the same time bringing about the realization that he'd neglected to put on a shirt. Ah, well; he'd survived through worse.

With a determined sigh, he heaved himself together and began to jog on down the street, ignoring the goosebumps on his skin.

* * *

Three hours (and several loud interruptions from Jude and Law) later found Sanji grumbling and opening up his eyes of blue. At first he lay there, blinking slowly and staring offhandedly into the black vortex of death that was Zoro's closet before Jude and Law once again broke the silence, causing him to groan and roll over.

He decided then that he didn't much care for the radio.

Sanji yawned, taking his time in waking up to stare at the ceiling. He'd always been one to relax after waking, lolling about in his own right before getting up to do whatever the day decided he needed to do. However, when he got into the escort service, he found that he could no longer laze around and enjoy the morning moments like he'd used to. Clients began to get the wrong idea, and he couldn't keep going back to people he knew were beginning to grow attached to him.

As another yawn left his mouth, he decided that it was probably time to get up before that rude asshole came back and kicked him out. He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and yawned again before actually getting up.

His clothing is a little more than wrinkled, but he can't say he gives a shit as he exits Zoro's room. All he cared about at the moment was getting back home so he could figure out some way to scrounge up the money he owed Arlong without over-stepping the week long limit.

Walking down the stairs, he could hear the familiar sounds of someone playing the video game they'd been battling over the night before. Once he'd cleared the landing, he saw Luffy sitting cross-legged on the floor, cheering and pumping his fist excitedly into the air. He didn't notice Sanji till the blonde was chuckling beside him, watching Luffy's character beat the snot out of the enemy.

"Oh, hey Sanji! Wanna play?"

"Eh, naw, I don't wanna get swept into that again. Where's the meat head?" he asked, glancing around.

When he'd woken up, Zoro had gone, but he still wasn't around. Sanji had figured that if the idiot had been uncomfortable sleeping beside him, then he'd have come down to indulge in some video game antics with Luffy, but apparently he'd been wrong in his assumption.

"I think he went running a couple hours ago. He might've gotten lost, 'cause he does that sometimes."

Sanji couldn't help the sharp bark of laughter that bellowed out his throat.

"Haha, you kiddin' me? That lug gets lost in his own town?"

"He's pretty hopeless with directions." Luffy said, grinning, obviously amused that Sanji found Zoro's lack of direction so funny. "I'm pretty sure he'll give you a ride back to your place whenever he gets back."

"Eh…When d'ya think that'll be?"

"Um…" Luffy had to pause his game as he sat back, thinking and calculating. Sanji quirked his brow as he watched, shoving his hands into his pockets. "No idea. He left early this morning; I heard him leave. And he's still not back, soooo."

"I think I'll be better off walking home or catching the bus."

"Good plan." Luffy said with a laugh, turning back to his game.

Sanji nodded to himself and walked to the door, plucking his coat off the rack and sticking it on, buttoning it up and preparing to leave. However, just as he was about to step out, Luffy halted him, calling him back and giving him an indiscernible look.

"Hey, Sanji."

"Yeah?"

"Promise to go come by again, ok?"

Frowning, Sanji gave the oddly serious young boy a hesitant half-frown.

"I dunno Luffy, I don't really make promises,-"

"Promise, Sanji! Promise you'll come back!"

"Sure, ok; I'll come back."

He was thrown off by the determined and serious look that had been gracing the boy's face, and agreed to come back only so he could leave and avoid Luffy's odd and serious facial expression.

However, now that he was free from the oddly confining gaze, he shook off the unease and sighed, lighting up that cigarette he'd been craving since the night before. Shutting their door behind him, he stepped off the few front steps and blew smoke into the frigid air as he walked, watching for the icy puddles so as not to slip in their deadly grips.

Continuing along their small driveway, he kicked at the rusty hunk-a-junk that was Zoro's car and walked to the sidewalk, whereupon he watched as a few drivers in their cars sloshed and slid along, trying hard to get wherever they were going. Sanji watched them go for a moment before heading on his way, moving down the sidewalk casually.

He shivered slightly in the cold and adjusted his jacket accordingly, burrowing down into the high collar and exhaling a long stream of smoke. He really hadn't planned on staying with Luffy and Zoro for so long; it'd cost him a lot of time he could've been using to obtain the money for Arlong.

It seemed the saying 'time is money' was more true for him now than it'd ever been, and he wondered why he'd never heeded those wise words before.

Ah well, at least he'd come out of it with at least one new friend; that Luffy lad had seemed pretty dead-set in having Sanji return. He didn't know how he felt about Zoro, or how he even sat with him. As far as he could tell, the man was just a rough, brash prick.

Perhaps his first impression had not been his best, and maybe he'd have to make time to drop by again after all. Or at least, he would after he got his business with Arlong settled and done with.

Sanji sighed and took one last drag of his cigarette before casting it away, watching as the snow put out the ember. He continued on his way, and upon turning a few corners and walking on in a shameless wandering sort of way, Sanji found he'd stumbled upon a bus stop.

Pleased with his apparent good fortune, he quickly checked the bus's route and grinned; fuck yes, this was his line! Damn, did he have Lady Luck on his side or what?

Then again, he'd probably had sex with Lady Luck somewhere down the line, and this was just her giving him thanks. And oh, would you look at that? The bus ran on an hourly timeline, and it was only 10 till the next bus rumbled along to pick him up. Fantastic.

His mood considerably heightened by this superior turn of events, Sanji sat down upon the bench and waited for the bus to come and pick him up and bring him home.

He lit up another cigarette as he waited, intending to finish it by the time the bus came. So he sat and he smoked, waiting at the bus stop in a snow covered lot, wondering what he'd do when he got back. He withdrew his phone from his pocket and checked it, wondering why he hadn't gotten any phone calls or texts only to discover that it had died sometime during his stay.

Well, it seemed that the first thing he should probably do was plug his phone in and check whatever messages had been left for him. He huffed at the cigarette and glanced when he heard someone running in his direction. Glancing up, half-expecting it to be that idiot who'd gone off running and had managed to get himself lost, and found he was slightly disappointed to see someone else running through the slushy snow.

He watched as they ran by, noting that some people were undeterred even in the face of snow to get a good work out. Sanji shrugged to himself and looked up when he heard the heavy working mechanics of the bus labouring toward him. Flicking away his unfinished cigarette, he stood up as it came to a stop and let him aboard.

Paying the fare, he nodded to the familiar driver before making his way to an empty window street, staring out at the scenery as they began moving. His breath began to condensate as soon as it hit the mirror, and soon his vision was obscured.

With a sigh, he sat back, letting the bus roll on down the street until it came to a halt by the stoplight. He rolled his eyes at the housewives chattering a few seats behind him, and glanced out the window again. Sanji was about to look away when something stood out and caught his eye, even through the fogged up window.

It was a hint of green, and upon wiping away the condensed breath couldn't help the sharp bark of a 'HA!' that escaped his lips. For there, standing huddled and without a shirt (the idiot), was Zoro, shivering and looking overall displeased with his situation.

He didn't see Sanji, but the blonde could see him and was enjoying the site thoroughly. The idiot was standing out in the cold without a shirt! Had he really been so stupid to have forgotten to put one one? Sanji laughed again and knocked against the window, capturing Zoro's attention.

Upon seeing him, Zoro froze and stared, then glared when Sanji stuck out his tongue and gave the green haired man the bird. Before Sanji could see Zoro's response, the light had changed and the bus was going, but at least he'd had his laugh.

* * *

Coming home was like having a breath of fresh, stale air; familiar and unwelcome all at once. Sanji shut the door behind him as he made his way inside, shaking off his coat and draping it across the back of a nearby chair before finding the charger to plug into his phone. Letting it sit and charge, he came to the sofa and draped himself across it, waiting for his cell to fully charge.

It was silent, now that he was home and alone. A stark contrast to Zoro and Luffy's place, which always seemed to be full of noise. He hadn't really noticed how quiet it was here till he'd been introduced into an environment that was different than his own.

Sanji scowled, but otherwise thought nothing more of it before he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

_It was the first day of his last year of high school, if he remembered correctly, when he'd first caught glimpse of Nami, the girl who'd change his life._

_She was a year younger than him, but captivated him all the same. She was beautiful and held a grace none of the other women his grade could match or ever hope to surpass. The minute he laid on her, he knew he'd become hopelessly enamored with her. _

"_Nami, my sweet!" he'd exclaim in the halls, surrounded by jealous girls and guys alike. "Do you have a map? I seem to have gotten lost in your eyes…"_

_She'd laughed at every one of his cheap and cheerful pick up lines, shaking her head and walking away before fights broke out amongst the crowds that had come to watch his advances. _

_Even though she'd smiled and grinned, he hadn't realized what a negative impact his words had had on her beautiful little heart. _

_He caught her crying one day; crying by her locker an hour after school had been dismissed. He'd stayed for a home economics class that had been teaching a cooking lesson and had asked his assistance, and really only stumbled upon her by chance. He'd been about to call out to her with that same cheerful greeting he always saved for a pretty lady, when she'd sniffed and sobbed._

"_Nami? Nami, are you alright?" _

_Sanji had quite literally dropped everything in hand to rush to her side, taking her up in his arms to stare down at her weeping face even as she tried to tear herself away to clean away her tears._

"_Fine, Sanji! I'm fine, let me go!"_

"_What's gotten you like this, my beautiful, beautiful darling?" She tried again to pry herself away, but only succeeded in sobbing all the harder and falling to the floor, pulling Sanji down along with her. "Nami, darling, quit your tears and tell me what's gotten your majestic eyes to weep so!"_

"_Shut up, Sanji! Just shut up with all your talk!"_

_Hurt, he'd ceased communication and stared as she struggled to quit her sobbing. Once she seemed to have been able to get it to the point where she could coherently talk around them, she turned her dark eyes on him in a glare._

"_Nami?"_

_"You're so annoying, do you know that Sanji? With all your bullshit romance attempts-"_

_"They're not bullshit; they're genuine." He'd argued, staying firm in his belief._

_Her face had wavered then, and she'd only shaken her head. _

"_I wish you'd leave me alone Sanji; I don't deserve the things you say. I'm ugly."_

"_What, no! You're the farthest from ugly, you-!"_

"_Shut up and _listen _to me!" she'd hissed then, glaring at him as a few tears leaked out the corners of her eyes. "I am ugly; I have no sense of self, or of virtue, I just."_

_She sniffled here before looking up at Sanji with big, baleful eyes._

"_I'm a whore, Sanji."_

"_No! You're beautiful my love, absolutely, undyingly, unwaveringly-"_

"_Stop, Sanji." She said, sniffling again and clearing her eyes. "I am a whore. I'm being forced to sell my body in order to pay off a debt I can't pay and I- I'm sick of it!"_

_She started crying again, silently and softly in his arms. He'd been dumbfounded; confused and upset that someone should have the gall to force his beautiful, precious Nami to stoop to such disgusting levels!_

"_Nami, Nami, love." He'd cooed, grabbing hold of her face and gently forcing her to look into his eyes. "Nami, you tell whatever bastard is doing this to you that I'll take your place." Her eyes widened and her mouth opened to talk him out of it, but he'd shushed her immediately, refusing to have it any other way. "Sex is different for men than for women, and a girl with a body as beautiful as yours shouldn't have to resort to selling yourself to pay off a little debt. How bad could it be?"_

_She'd thanked him generously, all weepy-eyed and full of hugs before they'd stood up and cleared the school's halls. Turns out, Nami had accumulated a huge, overwhelming debt that seemed to have no end in sight._

_Sanji'd walked into a trap sightless and vulnerable, with the heart of a romantic as his blind, but his vow and word as a man refused for him to walk back out. _

**A/N: **First off I want to extend a huge apology to you all; I am SO sorry this took so long! You all left me such lovely and wanting replies, but I've simply been so busy with life and trying to find a job and trying to get back into school that I simply have not had the time to work on this. Thank you all for being so patient and sticking with me and continuing to express interest in the story.

I would also like to say that I even went back and did minor re-writes on all the previous chapters, changing a few things here and there (like Zoro's OOC in the beginning, and Sanji's school age and ringtone; nothing too major) that you might want to go back over, just for the hell of it.

And really guys; thank you so much. I promise to update more frequently now that things have started to settle down.

Also; same deal as before! I know it's a dick move, but again, if you missed the memo before, I only update _after _I've received a certain amount of reviews, so keep that in mind!

MUCH LOVE.  
(heart)


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